Nearly one in 10 U.S. adults have both a history of impulsive anger and access to a firearm, according to a new study by researchers from Duke, Harvard and Columbia universities. The researchers also found that 1.5 percent of adults with impulsive anger issues carry a gun.

The study, published in Behavioral Sciences and the Law this month, analyzed data from 5,563 face-to-face and household interviews that were part of the National Comorbidity Study Replication, a Harvard-led survey conducted in the early 2000s. The survey assessed respondents’ mental health, includin...